Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission
by Arclight279
Summary: A modernised tale. After the death of her boyfriend Lincoln, Octavia sets out to seek answers whilst getting her vengeance and justice along with balancing her increasingly complicated life. Note: Fictional Original characters in a fictional city alongside members of 'The 100'. A slow burning story.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:

I do not own the characters associated with this work. It is a work of fanfiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of my imagination (unless otherwise stated) or if real, are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All statements, activities, stunts, descriptions, information and material of any other kind contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only and should not be relied on for accuracy or replicated as they may result in injury.

Be wary of when you step out of your doors at night  
>There's something on the loose that will give you a fright<br>She keeps to the shadows and stalks her prey  
>Fall foul of the law and hunt you she may<br>Covered from head to toe in the blood of the few  
>Keep your eye out as the Crimson Death is after you<br>Silent as a ghost and cold as the grave  
>She never forgets and hasn't forgave<p>

"And we're back! Thank you once again for joining us this evening. My next guest tonight is leading criminologist Lyndon Franklin, here to explain to us and give us some insight on the recent criminal activity that has been affecting our wonderful city. It's great to have you here this evening Lyndon!" Said the affable late night television show host to her guest. She continued to face him as she awaited a reply.

"Thank you for giving me the time to speak this evening," was Lyndon's curt reply. He adjusted his seating position so he was more comfortable, crossing his legs in a way that is masculine.

"So tell me Lyndon what do you make of the recent drop off in violent criminal activity? What do you attribute it to?" asked the host as she smoothed out her skirt. Her name is Llewellyn Weatherstone and she is the host of the number one rated late night talk show in the city and indeed countrywide, which is composed of a mix of serious and light issues brought on and talked about with a variety of guests each week. No matter what the occasion she was always impeccably dressed and made up so that she was the envy of all the female viewers.

"I think there has definitely been a substantial drop due to a single factor alone and the answer may or may not surprise you depending on where you sit." Her guest, the 3rd of the evening was a man dressed in an expensively tailored Italian suit.

He is an expert in all matters related to criminal activity and recently finished promoting a book countrywide. He regularly lectured in his field and even consulted for numerous law enforcement agencies on cold or otherwise unsolvable cases and had a very high success rate.

Llewellyn leaned forward expectantly, "What would you say that factor would be? The outstanding work of our law enforcement agencies?" She crossed her legs and smiled expectantly, knowing where this was going. She had discussed how she wanted the interview to go with her producers and her guest and loved leading her guests down a path that was likely to raise and maintain viewer interest. They'd promoted the hell out of this interview all week and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to increase her ratings on it.

"I'd put it down to one factor Llewellyn, the Crimson Death." The look of surprise on the face of the host was just good acting, or at least that's what she thought as she wasn't surprised by his answer.

"But isn't the Crimson Death just a myth? A fairytale that we use to scare our children so they don't misbehave? Surely there's a more reasonable explanation in your expert opinion."

He leaned back looking pensive for the briefest of moments, "I don't think so, otherwise I wouldn't have suggested it. Whether or not the Crimson Death is fact or fiction, the fact of the matter is that a pattern has developed." He began to count visibly using his hands as if checking off a list of points.

"All the perpetrators that were slain all had previous criminal convictions. They all were considered quite unfavourably by the public and mass media and they all died bloody deaths in the literal sense of the words." He adjusted his glasses which had slipped down a fraction on his face before continuing.

"Do I think those individuals will be missed? No. Do I think that this has all been committed by one person? Possibly. Do I agree with their methods of justice? No not at all, which is only part of the reason why I'm fascinated by this case."

If there was one thing that Lyndon loved doing the most it was analysing criminal cases. He loved his line of work as it always had the ability to fascinate and surprise him after al the years that he'd been working in the field. He secretly hoped that he could catch the Crimson Death as it would certainly be a boost for his lofty ambitions.

"Many people have applauded the Crimson Death's efforts in removing some of the most dangerous criminals off of our streets. What do you have to say to those people?" Llewellyn liked the direction that this interview was going and she could see the extra zeros being added to her paycheck already as her contract renewal was coming up. Lyndon uncrossed his legs from that position that men have when they are seated in a relaxed manner,

"I'd say that for all the supposed good that this person has done, the manner in which it was achieved should never be condoned. Vigilantism undermines the system of law and justice which binds our society. No one should be judge, jury and executioner all wrapped up into one." He turned directly toward a camera so it would appear that he was looking right into the eyes of the person watching the screen, "No one."

The shrill noise of the alarm clock beside her bed woke Octavia up as she attempted to hit the snooze button, only managing to knock the clock onto the floor where it still continued to make noise.

"Get up or you'll be late like always O!" Yelled Bellamy Blake, her brother from down the hall. She groaned and rolled out of bed quickly attempting to fix her messy bed hair and rub the sleep out of her eyes. She'd had another late night out prowling the city and it showed when she looked at herself quickly in the mirror.

She jumped into the shower and was out in what seemed like record time. She hastily got dressed and fixed her appearance so that the brunette staring back at her was smiling and presentable for another day's worth of education. Her brown hair framed her face and she was wearing a simple graphic tee and gym shorts.

Despite the seemingly endless compliments she received from guys at school, which infuriated some of the other girls who put more of an effort into how they dressed. Walking into the kitchen she saw her brother leaning against the kitchen counter of their modest 2 bedroom apartment eating a bowl of cereal.

"Morning sunshine! Doing your usually crash and dash?" He asked as he leant back against the kitchen counter and taking a spoonful of cereal into his mouth watching hi sister intently.

The crash and dash was a term Bellamy had come up with for her late nights and quickie breakfasts. The crash being her passing out on her bed after coming in late and the dash being her rush out the door to attempt to avoid being late. Octavia simply nodded and looked at what her brother was wearing,

"Aren't you usually out of the door before I am? You don't look like you're going anywhere anytime soon?" He was still dressed in pants that he'd clearly been wearing to bed and a sloppy t-shirt. His hair was messy as if he had just gotten out of bed, which he probably had.

He rolled his eyes at her words, "You must still be asleep O. I don't have any classes today." He looked at her like he was a puzzle he was trying to figure out, "Is everything alright O?"

Bellamy attended the local college on a scholarship and he was referring to how Octavia had been the last couple of months. He'd noticed that she hadn't been her usual self after a certain event, the death of her boyfriend Lincoln and the trauma and recovery that she'd had to go through as a result of the incident.

She crossed her arms and just smiled shaking her head ruefully, "I'm fine Bell. I wish you'd stop asking me that."

Truthfully though Bellamy had always been good at reading his little sister and she had a brief flash of fear. Fear that he might figure out what she'd been up to. It was important for his safety and hers that he never find out what she was doing of an evening. She slowly began to back out of the kitchen and head for the front door,

"Bye Bell. I'll see you later this afternoon."

Closing the door behind her, Octavia began the short walk to school, Skyfall Central High, which was in fact more of a powerwalk/jog because of the time. She did however; manage to make it through the school gates just as the first bell rung and she made her way to her locker to pick up her stuff for first period English.

She slid into her seat next to her friends Clarke Griffin and Raven Reyes, who acknowledged her arrival with a quick hey and a wave. Both of her friends were accustomed to Octavia's bouts of lateness and as such usually filled her in on any Goss in the first period of the day. The majority of their talk revolved around attempting to sneak into some big party that was being held in one of the most popular nightclubs in the city.

"I've got this friend who can make fake IDs and for a small fee, he could make some for the three of us," said Raven as she looked back and forth between Clarke and Octavia. Raven was the mischievous one out of the three of them and she spent most of the time that she did in detention for some sort of elaborate prank or practical joke. She had multiple piercings in her left ear and was dressed in stylishly ripped jeans, red sneakers and a t-shirt with an ironic message splayed across it.

"I don't know, it'd be hard for me to sneak away," said Clarke, clearly apprehensive about getting herself involved in one of Raven's schemes. She was the sensible one of the group, hard working and excelled at Biology, and it came as no surprise that she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her parents and become a doctor. She was dressed in her sensible style with a crop top with a cardigan and a skater skirt to give off the fun and casual vibe she was going for.

"Come on Clarke there'll be boys, lots and lots of boys!" Raven said as she bumped her shoulder against Clarke's. She knew that she'd just have to keep chipping away at Clarke who was now trying to turn her attention back to what they were supposed to be doing in class.

"What about you Octavia? It seems like forever since we hung out," Raven said this time directing her attention to Octavia. Octavia shrugged and answered in a way that she mostly did nowadays, which was non-committal,

"I'll think about it. I don't have anything planned as of yet on Friday night," she said. Octavia knew though that she most likely wouldn't go, only because Friday night would be spent the way she spent most nights since Lincoln's death, searching for those responsible.

Later on in the day, was arguably Octavia's favourite class, PE. Lately, the class's teacher, Mr Kane, had been getting the students to run the mile and for his more capable students, several miles as the annual athletic meet between the schools of the city was scheduled to come up soon as was the Skyfall City annual marathon.

He encouraged the more athletically gifted students to enter the event, as it was often a long standing and unofficial tradition that several students from each school would enter and each of the Gym teachers had a discreet wager on the race, with the teacher and school winning by having a student from their school finishing the race before any other student from one of the other schools, like a race inside of a race.

Mr Kane knew of Octavia's athletic ability, he'd seen her rapid rise and improvement but he could never understand her lack of commitment. He knew she was the best prospect the school had for quite some time, but she never pushed herself, always settling in amongst the crowd.

If he wanted to win that wager and have her performance reflect back favourably on his ability to teach, he needed to convince her to take part in this year's event. He thought about all of this and indeed what he'd say as he pulled her aside as the other students continued to sweat it out.

"Blake! Get over here! I need to speak with you for a moment," he called out as he turned and headed further away from potential eavesdroppers not waiting but expecting her to follow. Octavia came jogging over in her running shoes, white athletic tank top and black shorts.

"What's up coach?" She said as she grabbed her electrolyte drink and took a slug of it, watching him and waiting for his reply. He was in an outfit that stereotyped the PE/Gym teacher context in that he was wearing a lightly coloured polo shirt, shorts, had a clipboard in one hand and a whistle around his neck. To top off the look, he was wearing a cap as he was a big believer in sun protection.

"I wanted to speak to you about your level of participation in my class." He paused for a moment considering his next words carefully.

"You're an athlete, there's no doubt about it Blake, but you never apply yourself. You always do just enough if that to get by and that's not good enough from you. Given that I know that this is one of your better and favoured classes, you'll sit out from now on and spend your lunch breaks with me in detention unless we can come to some sort of agreement." He watched as Octavia crossed her arms, a stern look appearing on her face.

"If I'm still doing okay and not failing then what does it matter to you?" Her posture screamed defiance with her shoulders square, legs arm width apart and planted firmly.

He sighed having predicted beforehand that she was most likely going to be difficult about this. His hands dropped to his sides making a loud clap.

"As your teacher, I expect the best from you and of you." He pointed to some of the other students who were running. "You're better than the rest of them. Your athleticism could take you places; get you a scholarship like your brother. I've looked at your grades and they won't be good enough to get you far and this is your best shot."

Octavia sensed that he was probably not going to let this go. It was time to see what his demands were, "So what do I have to do exactly?"

He smiled, "It's really quite simple. I want you to enter the annual marathon and beat all the other students from our school and the other schools that enter." He held up a hand when he could see she was about to protest. "No buts Miss Blake. I as well as you know that you can do it. Do this and I'll leave you alone. Good talk Blake. Now get back to it!"

Octavia was left standing there as he walked off, already yelling at another student to pick up the pace. She walked over to the bench nearby and sat down, taking in a few deep breaths. It was a mildly warm afternoon and the sweat trickled down her face as she thought to herself,

'_I'll just do this to get him off my back and then everything can go back to flying under the radar.' _She knew that she could use her toned athletic ability to take her places if she put her mind to it, but after Lincoln's death, she didn't think too much about the future that was in store for her. With her head down and pointed at the ground she didn't see Clarke approach,

"Hey O what's up? I saw Kane giving you the 3rd degree," taking a seat next to Octavia and grabbing one of the many water bottles available.

"He wants me to run in the marathon that's coming up. Says he wants me to start applying myself," she said as she looked over at Clarke who had begun untying her running shoes.

"Go for it O, you'll do great!" She clapped her on the back before noticing the faraway look in Octavia's eyes. "He'd want you to keep living you know. He'd want you to be happy even without him."

Octavia got up abruptly and a look of anger was plastered on her face, "Don't you speak to me about what he'd want me to do," she gestured wildly tossing her empty bottle harder than necessary into a bin. "I was happy with him and he was taken away from me. Nothing seems important any more." Glassy eyed and visibly distressed, she took off for the locker room.

As the water cascaded down from the showerhead, Octavia was pulled back into thinking about Lincoln. This was invariably brought about by what Clarke had said not long ago. How could she talk to me like that? She thought and as she thought it, Clarke's shocked face was at the forefront of her mind as she saw the hurt that had flashed across her friend's face.

Instantly Octavia felt bad about the way she had acted, she was just an absolute jumble of emotions lately, with anything seeming to set her off. She wasn't really mad at Clarke or the world, but more so herself. She felt responsible for Lincoln's death and would do anything to make up for it and as the water continued to run she was taken back to that fateful night.

It had been a particularly frosty night and she was wearing Lincoln's jacket on top of her own as they walked back to his car. They had spent the night out on a cheesy sort of date night in that they grabbed a bite to eat before seeing a movie. It was the latest romcom that had hit the box office and Octavia had dragged him along to see it, even though she knew he probably wouldn't enjoy it, but she gave him points for putting up with her.

They'd been dating for at least 8 months and things were getting pretty serious even if her mom and Bellamy weren't fans of the attention he gave her.

"So what did you think of the movie?" Lincoln asked her as he draped an arm around her shoulders. He had to admit that she looked pretty cute rugged up wearing jeans, a scarf which was blue (her favourite colour) and his long sleeved light brown jacket on top of her red and white striped jacket.

"I thought it was great! Definitely a twist that I didn't see coming," she replied smiling as she looked up at him and snuggling closer to him. She was crazy about him, even more so because he was her first serious boyfriend. He was dressed in jeans, a white polo shirt and black sneakers.

They crossed the street they were on having spotted Lincoln's car and Octavia was already thinking about climbing in and turning on the heat.

She already wanted to spend a good period of the rest of the evening before he dropped her off making out with him in the car. The streetlight nearest his car, which was a classic pickup went out as did the next nearest streetlight. As they approached the car three men stepped out of the shadows, each wearing dark coloured clothes and each with masks covering their faces. Lincoln instantly pushed Octavia behind him, shielding her from view.

Each of the three drew handguns as they continued to walk towards them.

"Are you Lincoln?" The man in the middle asked him, as he came to a halt gun still down at his side.

"There are a lot of people that go by that name. You'll have to be more specific," Lincoln stated showing no signs of fear with his hands forming fists.

"Are you the Lincoln of the UnderGround movement?" He added to his question before continuing, "My colleagues are sure but I always like to check," as if that made any difference.

"Look just take whatever you want. Money, phones just have them and let us go," Octavia said as she stepped from behind Lincoln. The central man gestured with his head and his two partners raised their guns training them on Octavia. She froze midstride as Lincoln took a step forward,

"Wait! Leave her out of this!" He sighed, head dropping slightly before raising it to meet their gazes once more.

"I am the Lincoln you're looking for. I'll go with you do whatever you want, just let her go, alright?" He was afraid that his past was going to catch up to him one day but he had hoped that it wouldn't be under these circumstances. Octavia whirled around to look at him,

"What are you talking about Lincoln? What are they talking about? You can't go with them!"

"Octavia!" Lincoln yelled out as the raising of his voice alerted her to the danger but it was too late as she was struck from behind by one of the men with his gun, sending her sprawling to the pavement.

As she rolled over onto her side she could see that the guns were now trained on Lincoln as the man who had been doing the talking crouched down beside Octavia and said,

"You're right girl. He can't come with us," she saw him turn his head and make a gesture with his hand in front of his throat and she looked over and saw the men fire off gunshots. She screamed as Lincoln's body hit the road. Tears rolled down her face as she looked up at the man nearest her, his boot connecting with her face and then there was darkness and nothing more.

The slamming of a locker brought Octavia back to the present, the water not feeling as warm as it once did. She stepped out of the shower, got dressed and given that it had been her last period of the day, she made her way home, her mind beginning to focus on what she had planned that evening.

No sooner had she walked through her bedroom door, did she receive a new message from Clarke and as it turned out, it was one of her and Raven's patented video messages. Putting her bag down and sitting on her bed she hit play and watched the message unfold,

"Hey O!" They both yelled in chorus, "Sorry about this afternoon, bringing it up the way I did," she actually looked a little uncomfortable looking away from the camera as Raven bounced around being silly and full of energy in the background.

"Let me make it up to you," She looked over at Raven beside her who was in the middle of pulling a ridiculous face, "I would have said this in person but you kinda took off real quick after class. So let's have a girl's night in. Not tonight of course, late notice and all that but how about on Thursday? We'll watch some movies, eat some bad food and talk about boys."

She took a deep breath in, "Anyway, I'm not sure when you'll see this, hopefully as soon as you receive it, but we'll talk more about it at school okay? Love you O!"

The message ended with her and Raven blowing kisses and Octavia sighed. She felt even worse for carrying on the way she did and maybe it might be a good idea to spend some more time with her friends. They were worried by the looks of it and truthfully she had missed spending time with them. But that was a problem to deal with tomorrow.

She thought this as she changed out of her clothes she wore to school and into gear that was appropriate for her night time activities. She was wearing white form fitting pants, a white tank top, combat boots and top off the look she was going for her newly arrived hoodie in the Assassin's Creed style, the Conner Kenway version. She had two of them to be exact, one in white and red and the other in black and red.

Depending on her mood and what she was planning for the suspect/s that she hunted down was what would ultimately determine her wardrobe preferences for the evening. She was going with the white this time, white meaning purity and light meaning this time she was going to get the information she wanted before allowing the police to do what they wanted with the suspect when she was finished with them.

Walking over to her walking in wardrobe, she opened the door and uncovered her hidden trunk which contained various items which she'd picked up in her quest to search for answers. The trunk was loaded with blades, ammunition and something she didn't go without on her "missions" with.

The Desert Eagle pistol she'd acquired not too long ago. She checked the chamber and turned the safety on clipping it into the holster which was nicely concealed by her hoodie/jacket. She had a sheath that ran down the length of her back to slide the blade in and two more, one on either side for daggers.

Not needing any of the other weapons she had stored for safe keeping she pocketed her cell phone, closed, locked and hid the trunk before shutting the wardrobe door. Stepping across to look at herself in the mirror quickly, she had to adit she looked fierce. Fierce and deadly, which is exactly what she was going for.

Nothing and nobody was going to stand in her way.


	2. Chapter 2

The streetlights always flickered and usually went out in this part of the city. Downtown to be exact, as she prowled the streets. Her target tonight was members of a local gang that had sprung up over the last few months and were selling drugs to kids and getting them involved in their gang related activity.

It was just another name to cross off and a chance to find out who was further up the chain of command. Small time gangs always work for a major player and said major player may have the answers she was looking for. She crossed the dark street, keeping to the shadows as much as possible to avoid detection as she spotted three gang members up ahead. They were dressed in clothes that would be expected to be worn by street gang members, jeans, tank tops and one of them wore a bandana.

Their arms were covered in tattoos as she expected their backs would be also, and it was these signature tattoos that often were the key identifying feature that distinguished members of one gang from another. This gang in particular had their turf run in the area where Lincoln was murdered so Octavia was looking to pump each and every member who might have some information for her regarding the aforementioned murder.

As it so happened, this gang had a nasty habit of getting innocent people either killed in the crossfire of their activities or the signature strategy used by them, which was to get people, teenagers specifically addicted to the product they were selling, infecting them with their drugs and letting them go, knowing that 99% of them would be back and would do anything for another hit. Including doing the gang's dirtywork, which was how members had eluded prosecution for so long.

Until now. She watched as they approached an unwary teenager who happened to be walking home, oblivious to their nefarious presence and as she watched them follow the teenager, she crept closer, keeping pace with them as she plotted a way to take them down. Her plan was simple. She was going to wait for them to stop the teenager and she was going to surprise them from behind, incapacitating two of the three and taking bandana boy for questioning.

Meanwhile, the teenager had caught on that he was being followed and panic forced him to increase his pace. What he didn't realise was that bandana boy had split off from the trio in order to cut off the teenager, which he did a moment later. Whirling around and seeing he had no where to go, the boy stopped as did his three new 'friends.' Octavia had moved into position now and she blocked out everything but what she needed to do.

She jumped out, catching the first gangbanger by surprise slamming him into the wall, knocking him to the ground. The second pulled out a knife and took a few swipes and stabs which were expertly avoided. As he went for another stab, Octavia dodged the attack, slamming her elbow into his face stunning the second gangbanger.

Quickly grabbing his knife from his hand she held it to his throat as a shot was fired by bandana boy, narrowly missing her as she positioned herself behind the second gangbanger, knife still to his throat. Bandana boy hesitated before asking,

"What do you want?" he asked trying to sound threatening but his heart wasn't quite in it. The teenager was on the ground now watching on frightened by what he was witnessing.

"Put the gun down and your boy doesn't get hurt," Octavia replied using a British accent. As part of her need for secrecy regarding what she did of a night time, she figured a way to make her less identifiable would be to not only not allow her to be seen clearly but to not have her typical voice heard.

She hadn't been looking towards Bandana boy but she looked up now, giving him the full weight of her gaze. She saw him visibly recoil as his eyes locked with hers. The startling feature that stood out was her red irises, a neat trick by her wearing contact lenses.

His gun pointed down and waved a bit, and it was from this lapse of concentration on his part where she took her opportunity to strike. Quick as lightning, she pulled her human shield out of the way, flinging the dagger at the Bandana boy, knocking the gun from his grasp, scattering on the ground into the darkness. She withdrew her gun from the holster pointing it at his heart.

"Don't move!" She yelled as he froze on the spot. Her former human shield begun to move on the ground and she fired directly next to his head.

"The next one doesn't miss," her voice devoid of emotion as he shrunk under her brief gaze. Walking over to Bandana boy now, he put his hands up as if to say, 'I don't want any trouble.' The problem with that was, trouble found him.

She looked back up at her main target this evening,

"Julio Granero!" She said in a raised voice addressing Bandana boy using his name. He flinched slightly at her tone.

"I need information about a murder that happened on your turf a few months ago. It's about the death of man named Lincoln." She said striding forward towards him purposefully.

Motioning at him with the gun she said, "Get on your knees with your hands behind your back!" He did as he was told as she circled around him the gun trained on him with one hand, the other reaching into her jacket to produce the wire she needed to tie his hands.

She'd been recently targeting members of this particular gang in the hopes that they'd have something, anything that could help her uncover the truth. So far, she received nothing so she decided to move up the chain of command in the gang hierarchy.

Grasping his shoulder firmly with her left hand, she placed the barrel of the gun against his temple,

"Start talking. What do you know about that murder?" He spat on the ground and gave a brief chuckle,

"You're not going to kill me chica, you won't get info that way if I'm dead."

She jammed the gun more forcefully into his temple,

"Maybe not, but if I don't get anything from you, I'll find someone else," She holstered the gun and withdrew a knife, making sure he felt the chill of the steel blade against his skin,

"I think you will talk. You just need a bit of persuasion." She could see the effect her words were having on him as his breathing begun to increase rapidly and a lite sheen of sweat adorned his forehead.

"If I talk at all, you know that they'll kill me right?" He said with a slight tone of desperation in his voice.

She drew the blade across his back, cutting through his shirt like a hot knife through butter, a line of crimson appearing in its wake. He gasped and struggled as the pain radiated across his back.

"I'll make sure you're in custody when I'm done." She tapped the blade against his mouth, the metallic scent of his blood beginning to fill the air, "Talk."

After several questions and vague answers later, Octavia begun to think that only the absolute top of the food chain of the criminal activity in the City, as in those who planned it, were likely to be able to yield any actual useful information. As she drew another cut across Granero, he broke.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you what I know," he sobbed, his shirt a tattered bloody mess. Taking a deep breath he continued,

"You know the Don of the Parchezzi family? Rumour has it that he has a special group that he uses to handle certain situations. They're called 'Murder 4 Hire' and chances are if this Lincoln knew something he shouldn't have, they'd have been the guys to ice him."

His words were greeted with silence and as he turned his head to try and see what she was doing, she strapped a recording device at the base of his neck,

"Thanks for the information Julio. Now I'm going to need you to speak nice and clearly into the device. You're going to confess all of your crimes as are your pals," she informed him.

A couple of hours later, the Skyfall City Police Department became aware of three felons bound and placed unceremoniously on the front steps leading into the precinct each with recording devices strapped to their chests.

"I'm getting breaking news here, so I'm going to have to cut you off there. We've just received word that the Crimson Death has delivered three criminals right to the SCPD. This has been confirmed by the one and only image captured this evening of the Crimson Death by a camera outside of the precinct," said the news anchor as the image flashed onto the screen.

The image was crystal clear but the visual of the Crimson Death was not able to positively ID the individual. She's standing facing 90 degrees away from the camera and no face is visible, just the red eyes beneath the hood, looking back at the camera.

"SCPD detectives have confirmed the 'confessions' are legitimate as the perpetrators, one of them Julio Granero, a notorious drug dealer has backed up what he said, but has refused to offer any information regarding the Crimson Death. We'll have more developments for you as we receive them."

The next few days passed in a blur, without much of anything memorable occurring. Octavia had agreed to hang out with her friends like they had initially planned on the Thursday night, watching movies and it wasn't too long before the conversation strayed to boys.

"So who have you got your eye on Clarke? Wells is pretty keen to get back with you I hear." Raven said as she nudged her in the ribs. Clarke scrunched her face up as if she'd tasted something disgusting.

"After what he did, there's no way that that is ever going to happen again," was what she offered in reply. She looked over at Octavia, "So how about you O? I know it's been tough."

Octavia shifted uncomfortably as the subject of her personal life was still difficult to deal with. She still felt a touch raw about it and even though she knew in the back of her mind that she had to move on at some point, she wasn't quite ready for it just now. So as usual she deflected, and this time onto Raven,

"What about yourself Raven? I know that there's a boy or two that has been asking about you?" She said as she bumped shoulders with her.

Raven took her time before meeting her eyes, "Ever since Finn and what he did, it's been kind of hard to get in the mood for any of that." She looked back down at her crossed legs. Octavia put a hand on her shoulder causing her to look back up,

"Any guy would be lucky and would love to be with you Raven. If they could see you the way Clarke and I do." She paused for a moment. "You're strong and brave and you always stand up for your friends. You don't let anyone push you around and there isn't anything you can't fix or problem you can't solve." Raven smiled at her but it wilted at the edges as she wiped her eyes,

"I've got something in my eye," was all she said as she walked off to the bathroom. Clarke sighed,

"Well this isn't going the way I was hoping," with click of the remote, she paused the movie they'd been watching. Octavia got to her feet,

"I'll go get her. She'll be fine in moment." She walked down the hall and knocked on the door to the bathroom, "Can I come in Raven?"

She waited for moment before the door swung open. It was plain to see that Raven was still upset, but she was trying not to show it.

"Do you really think all of that about me? All of what you just said?" She asked Octavia, who nodded. She admired Raven even if she'd never said it out loud so openly before as she had earlier. It had been tough for her, having become an orphan at such a young age and being taken in by Clarke's family.

Then on top of that, having Finn who had been a long time boyfriend of hers, cheat on her after all they'd been through, it had broken her heart and in many ways she was still in pain. Pain was something that Octavia understood all too well.

She had to brace herself to prevent falling to the floor given the force with which Raven launched herself, wrapping her arms around her friend in a hug. It was like this that they stood, even as Clarke came and made it a group hug, that these girls knew that no matter what the future would hold and no matter what obstacles they may have to overcome, that they'd be there for each other.

It was when she realised this during this moment of closeness, that she felt a twinge of guilt. Knowing that she couldn't be truly close with her friends, not when there was so much work still to be done.

Finally the day was here! The day on the calendar which marked the Skyfall City annual marathon. Even though Octavia had only entered the race because she was forced to by her teacher Mr Kane, she still had that excited and nervous feeling that people get before a big event. She'd carpooled to the race with Clarke and Raven as they were going to watch their friend race. She was limbering up near the starting line along with a number of other competitors, most of which near the front were professional athletes. Octavia was wearing black athletic shorts, her trusty Nike running shoes and a white athletic tank. She also had her allotted number visibly displayed on her torso front and back.

She looked over into the stands and when they realised she was watching, her friends started waving madly, holding a banner which read, 'Let's Go O!' Slowly but surely over the next 20 minutes or so, the stands begun to fill and the noise, excitement and energy was elevated exponentially.

Skyfall was a big city and the marathon was set at the traditional length of 26.2 miles, taking in every aspect that the city had to offer as the course snaked its way through the heart of the city and the finish line was right in front of city hall.

"Runners please approach the starting line," the announcer's voice called out over the PA system. Octavia bustled her way to the front, looking left and right as she took her stance. She noticed that some of the most notable long distance runners in the world were lined up alongside her and she was briefly starstruck.

The sound of a pin dropping could be heard as she looked up and watched the starter raise his gun aloft. BANG! The race was off and Octavia turned her attention to looking forward once more as she pushed off. The sound of many pairs of feet hitting the pavement was quickly drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

Her strategy for the race was simple. She figured that she'd try and do as well as she could even though she was at long odds to win the race. This was down to the agreement she'd made with her PE teacher Mr Kane, along with the fact that the better she did, the increased likelihood that he'd leave her alone in the future, which is what she wanted.

Before long, a breakaway group had formed with the professional athletes taking the lead, but not too far behind them was Octavia and a few other competitors, one of whom was a rival from another school. As she looked over at him, he looked over at her grinning as he upped the pace. Not to be outdone however, Octavia matched his speed as she begun to feel the burn.

It wasn't until she crossed the iconic bridge that separated the two parts of the city, that she had the feeling she was being watched. As she continued to run, she kept glancing out of the corner of her eye and even over her shoulder but she couldn't see anyone besides other competitors and spectators. _'It's not like I'd be able to pick out whoever was staring at me specifically from the crowd anyway,'_ she thought to herself.

As she could sense the finish line just around the corner, she began to dream of taking a long nap afterwards, when she could relax after a hard race. BOOM! As she rounded the corner to the final straight, an explosion rocked the street further up the road closer to the finish line, where the main group of contenders was about to finish the race. She was shocked at what had just happened and had begun to slow down when BOOM! Another explosion closer to her rocked the street, causing the ground to shake and debris to fly from the nearest building.

Octavia was thrown forward, her hands out in front of her preventing her head from making contact with the ground and softening her impact. She slid forward, grazing her hands which instantly became bloodied. Her ears were ringing as she tried to catch her breath, looking left and right but seeing nothing but smoke filling the air.

As she looked forward once more, from the smoke emerged a figure, dressed from head to toe, all in black, the only part of his body visible was his eyes. He was looking straight down at her and once he was aware of her gaze locking onto his, he made a gesture, pulling his index finger across his throat.

She pushed herself off the ground and onto her feet, watching as he dissolved into the cover that the smoke provided.

"Wait!" She yelled as she took off unsteadily on her feet, barely managing a jog in the direction she saw the mysterious figure. As she got closer to the finishing line, she could see bodies lining the streets, limbs disconnected and blood and debris littered across the pavement.

Her hearing started to come back and she could hear screaming coming from the stands and the sounds of sirens as the emergency services were no doubt on their way. She dimly noticed the brief pressure the ribbon marking the finishing line placed on her as she walked over the line, feeling it give way and the flash of a camera going off as her picture had been taken.

Out of the corner of her eye, movement had caught her attention. An official, who had been standing over near the podium when the first explosion had hit was struggling to breath. She rushed over to him and saw the wounds which were oozing blood. A shard of metal had pierced his leg and despite her lack of medical training, even she knew that he was beyond help.

She knelt down beside him on one knee, taking his nearest hand and watched as his gaze slowly shifted over to hers. _'This was I time when I wish Clarke was here. She'd know what to say or do,'_ she thought. Clarke, who spent most of her time volunteering at the hospital her mom worked at, studied all things medical. Octavia just decided to keep it simple with what she said,

"Just hang in there buddy. It's going to be alright." She felt his grip tighten on her hand fleetingly, as she stared down at him for a few moments, the rest of the world and sound drowned out. Too soon though she felt his grip slacken and knowing there was nothing else she could do she tried to stand. Feeling light headed herself she stumbled, before her body met the pavement unceremoniously as she passed out.

Opening her eyes to bright lights and a lot of white had Octavia momentarily disoriented. The last thing she could remember was being out on the street near the finish line of the marathon before she passed out. Moving a hand to block the light as her eyes adjusted she took in her surroundings.

She noticed her clothes were folded up and placed on a table at the end of her bed. Lifting up the blanket she was under revealed the scrubs she was wearing, wincing as she did so, brought the memory of scraping her hands across the road. They were wrapped tightly in bandages but still allowed some range of movement in her fingers.

The room was empty otherwise; the chairs at the side of the room underneath the window were devoid of life, although one looked as though it had been sat in recently.

"Oh good you're awake now," stated the enthusiastic and smiling doctor as she entered the room, quickly shutting the door behind her, drawing Octavia's attention away from the window.

"Can I get some water?" Octavia asked as her voice came out a little croaky and her throat dry. The doctor nodded and collected some water in a plastic cup from a water cooler before handing it to her. The cool refreshing water felt good and what she imagined it would feel like for someone who had gone days without the stuff.

Setting the cup down, she looked back at the patiently waiting doctor,

"So can I go now?" She asked bluntly. Octavia didn't like spending time in hospitals at all, mostly due to an accident that Bellamy had been involved in a couple of years back. She remembered how scared she'd been for him and that feeling just stuck with her and always came to mind when she even just thought the word hospital.

The doctor nodded quickly before looking down at her notes, "Nothing too serious here, mostly cuts and scrapes, you were mildly dehydrated as well from the race, but we've evened that out with fluids. You were very lucky though unlike a lot of competitors." She flipped over a page on her notepad. "I just need to run a quick test or two, have you sign a form and you'll be all set."

Octavia went through a number of tests the doctor told her were routine checks and after seeming pleased with the results they indicated, she was allowed to dress privately before the doctor and Bellamy both came in through the door.

Bellamy hugged his sister quickly and she returned the affection evenly. "Tell me you're alright O!"

"I'm fine Bell, just a graze or two," her brother had always been fiercely protective of her from the moment she had been born. He told her when she asked one day that their mom had made him promise to always look out for his little sister and he did. Sometimes it got on her nerves a little bit, especially when she started noticing boys, but she knew that he'd always look out for her.

Bellamy released her and looked over at the doctor,

"Is there any way we can get out without having to go through them?" He asked as he indicated by pointing out the door.

The doctor looked pensive for a moment, "I can stop them from entering her room but besides that, unless they do something they can sit out there as long as they like."

Octavia looked back and forth between the two of them, puzzled and having no clue as to what they were talking about. She pulled on Bellamy's arm so that his attention was now directed at her,

"Get out without having to go through who Bell?"

He scratched the back of his head, a nervous gesture as he answered, "The press O." If her face was confused before then it was bewildered now,

"Why would they want to speak with me Bell?" He placed his hands on her shoulders as he looked down at her,

"You won the race little sister and you survived the blasts when you were right in the middle of them."

Turning away and trying to process it at the same time, she sat down on her now vacant hospital bed, "Oh."

The doctor coughed successfully gaining the attention of the Blake siblings,

"I may be able to help you out though." She turned her attention squarely onto Bellamy. "I can hold off the press with a friendly nurse or two, while you take her down the fire escape. It should buy you some time at least."

Octavia and Bellamy looked at one another before turning back to the doctor, Bellamy indicating to the door, "After you Doc."

"In other related news, all of Skyfall especially but the world as well eagerly awaits what its newest star has to say. I'm referring to the winner of the Skyfall City marathon, Octavia Blake seen here." The anchor disappeared as an image of Octavia appeared on the screen as her and Bellamy watched on their TV screen at home. The picture was the main image that had been floating around since the race yesterday.

It was of Octavia walking forward across the finish line, the red ribbon straining against her body. Her arms were at her sides, palms facing outward as blood ran down from cuts on her arms, her hands already bloodied; her shirt stained red and black. The number on the front of her top had peeled away and was still hanging by a thread. Her legs were dirtied and scraped from her impact with the ground.

"You look pretty badass in that pic O," Bellamy said, bringing a smile to her face as they continued to watch the news.

"The 17 year old is the youngest ever winner of the event now in its 93rd year of running and she's already proving to be a polarising figure in light of the tragic and unforgettable end to this years race." Another image took over the screen as it was a moment that will always be seared into her mind forever. The image was of her holding the hand of the dying man on the pavement as she comforted him with some last words.

It took her by surprise as she gasped, remembering the moment in crystal clarity. Seeing him look over at her, watching the light leave his eyes forever and the feeling of helplessness that she felt in that moment.

"We cross live to our reporter in the field Martin Lackenby who is standing outside the Blake residence now." The anchor adjusted her notes in front of her before continuing, "Martin good morning! What updates have you got for us?" The screen depicted two images, one of the anchor on the left hand side and the other of the reporter with the Blake house in the background.

"Yes good morning Cassandra!" The reporter said after a few seconds delay before continuing, "So far we've had no activity from the Blake residence so far. They have not come out to comment, but we've received word from her publicist that a statement is not far away."

At these words, Octavia and Bellamy looked at each other,

"My publicist?" She started to say as the door swung open and a woman in a pant suit entered, quickly closing the door behind her to stop any press from sneaking in. She sauntered over to Octavia grasping her hand firmly,

"Pleasure to meet you darling, I'm Kiki van Stratten, your publicist, agent and stylist…for the time being." She pronounced it van Str-ahh-ten adding to the poshness with which she carried herself. She was immaculately made up and her hair had not one single lock out of place. Everything about her screamed designer and her outfit probably had been made by a fancy designer Octavia guessed.

Octavia got up as Kiki shook Bellamy's hand, the TV forgotten for the time being,

"Okay, why are you here?" She asked as she crossed her arms, a frown on her face as she stood opposite the woman.

Kiki let out a sigh as she placed her handbag on the floor, placing her hands on her hips,

"First of all, no frowning buttercup you'll age faster. Secondly, I just explained who I am and why I'm here." She placed a hand out facing up while the other stayed on her hip, reminding Octavia of a teacup pose.

"You said that. But why are you here and who sent you?" Placing extra stress on the word why, indicated to her with both hands.

"Darling, everyone wants a piece of you." She said as she crossed the room in her high priced pumps, using her hands to indicate down the length of Octavia's body.

"As for who sent me…why Llewellyn Weatherstone of course. I'm her publicist and she wants to lock in an interview; so consider my services free of charge for now and the start of a wonderful relationship." She bent down a withdrew a card from her handbag, thrusting it into Octavia's hands,

"Just read that outside to the press after we've cleaned you up a bit."

Octavia started to shake her head, not having any of it as she moved to the side of the room,

"I'm not saying or doing anything!" She gestured to the door, "Please leave."

Kiki fished out a smaller card and handed it to Bellamy, "When she's ready to talk give me a call. They won't leave until you give them something. Bye for now." Was all she said as she gathered her things and left the house. Octavia looked over at her brother now that that had all happened still not quite sure what to believe.

Two days later and the media still hadn't quieted down and it was starting to wear down Octavia's resistance. They'd be on to her every time she left the house to go to school, always asking her questions. On social media she was trending like there was no tomorrow, and the story had only quieted down marginally on television.

When night time came she thought that maybe she'd get some respite and she'd get some time away from it by continuing her search for answers about Lincoln, but she couldn't risk exposure of her evening identity and she was coming down with a severe case of cabin fever as a result.

She relayed her concerns to her brother the next morning as she paced the kitchen. She'd gotten up early so she could get ready, just so she could prepare herself to walk through the awaiting reporters again. Bellamy had a simple solution to the problem,

"Just talk to them for a bit O. Give them something, anything and they'll go away." He said this between mouthfuls of his morning cereal before waving the spoon at her.

"They just want to talk about 'you' for now O. Think of it this way. Not every story that makes it onto the news or trends stays like that forever. It'll die down eventually. Just have your 15 seconds and move on."

She leaned against the kitchen counter, looking up at the ceiling as she prepared herself for what she was about to do. She wasn't 100% sure about what they wanted to hear exactly, but she'd tell them something and go about her day. _'Once they figure I'm not that interesting, that'll be that,'_ she thought to herself as she walked to the front door.

She placed her hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath,

"Good luck out there O," Bellamy said as he watched her from the doorway leading into the kitchen. She turned around and got the reassurance she needed from his smile, as she pushed open the door, closing it behind her as she was immediately barraged by the nearest reporters. Questions from all directions immediately assaulted her,

"Octavia, how did it feel to win the race? Are you planning on running marathons professionally? What did the win mean to you? Is it true that you've got an interview booked in already?" Were just some of the more notably questions posed to her.

She raised a hand up to silence the gathered crowd, as microphones were thrust in her direction, so they could capture every syllable. Cameras facing her now in a variety of angles to document the moment.

"It was good to win the race, although I had no idea I had for a few hours at least." She looked around as if trying to capture everyone's eye as she spoke, "It doesn't even feel like a win though, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I'm just glad to be alive."

"What did you say to the official who died as you held his hand after crossing the finishing line?" Was a question shouted over the din of noise. She instantly flashed back to that moment in her mind, once again seeing his face and the last moments of his life.

She looked down for a moment before resuming, "I told him everything would be alright, even as the light left his eyes. I see his face when I go to sleep now; he didn't deserve what happened to him."

"How are you handling the increased pressure on social media? People are talking about the brave, heroic champion of the city. Your determination has inspired people after all. Do you have many followers?"

Octavia smiled at this one as she pictured the reactions she might get with her answer,

"I'm not signed up to any social media, which annoys my friends," She said with a laugh and a few reporters joined in. She once did join in with the rest of the people of her generation in regards to social media, but once Lincoln was murdered and she began her hunt, she took to the shadows in more ways than one.

The reporters had more questions but she left them and made her way to school before she'd be late. As she walked up the front steps of the school, she could hear her voice through a video that two girls were watching on one of their phones, but this wasn't the first instance of this happening. Other students looked away when she caught them looking and she was a bit daunted by the scrutiny.

As she was walking down the front steps of the school at the end of the day with Raven and Clarke, a sleek black limousine pulled up, catching the attention of the students nearby. The electric window rolled down and to her surprise, Octavia saw Kiki in the back seat. She looked over at Octavia and said, "Hop in."

The driver, who Octavia hadn't noticed until now was wearing a suit, a driver's cap and white gloves as he opened the door and stood there patiently waiting. Clarke gave Octavia a slight shove,

"We'll catch up with you later Rockstar," she said as her and Raven walked over to her car. Left with no other choice and not seeing the harm, Octavia slid into the backseat, the door swiftly shut behind her by the driver.

As the car pulled out and begun the drive back to Octavia's place, Kiki tapped her on the shoulder and as she looked over at the woman, she was caught out by the cell phone held in a position as if she was about to take a photo,

"Smile!" She said and on impulse rather than conscious action, Octavia complied and was blinded momentarily by the flash. "Okay, now we have a base profile picture for all your social media accounts and its already been verified, so everyone will know it's you," Kiki continued as she turned the phone around to show Octavia a glimpse at her twitter account with the picture that was just snapped, next to her name and the blue tick.

Octavia sighed and slumped back in the chair, "So this is really happening I guess," was all she said as she looked out the window as they turned down her street.

"Yes it is and you might as well make the most of it."

The car came to a stop outside her house and looked over at Kiki,

"What if I don't want any of it?" Kiki grabbed her hand in hers, giving it a light squeeze,

"Honey you accepted it when you talked to the press earlier and besides you won the race. People see the potential in you for more. They're curious and they want to know more about you because you inspired them."

Octavia threw her hands up and ignoring the driver, she opened the door herself. She turned around and looked through the window,

"I didn't win the race, I just survived it." With that she walked up to her house and through the front door, not looking back for even a second.

Bellamy had draped himself over the couch and was watching TV,

"A letter came for you O. I left it on the table in the kitchen," he called out as she walked by. The letter stood out on the kitchen table, as it was cream coloured with red writing on the front that looked very elaborate and fancy which simply said 'Miss Blake'.

Opening the envelope, she found that it was a simple card, with a message written or rather crafted on one side. Letters had been cut out from different magazines, newspapers for effect as each letter stood out. The message read,

'I know what you've been up to. I know who you are.'


End file.
